Everything You Never Wanted
by KL inc
Summary: Times have certainly changed for everyone. The arrival of a mysterious girl will bring forth a frightening reality for one of our boys. not quite a new girl fic. READERS, REVIEWS and REVIEWERS NEEDED. EDITED FOR EASIER READING. CHAP 9 UP!
1. general info

Everything you never wanted By K L inc 

**GENERAL INFORMATION**

**RATING**: T (for now...for language, and thematic elements)

**SUMMERY**: Times have certainly changed for everyone. The arrival of a mysterious girl will bring forth a frightening reality for one of "our" boys. Not quite a new girl fic. (place your bets here) READ & REVIEW!

**DISCLAIMER**: _**I do not own**_ anything from or affiliated with _**The Body**_ (by Steven King) _**or Stand By Me**_; including characters and/or actions that can be found alluded to in the book or the movie. I do own my own original characters and the events you do not recognize occuring after said book or movie. Some events have been changed with apologies tothe creator for creative purposes. (Does that sound official enough?)

**ADDITIONAL DISCLAIMER**: I do not own any songs or lyrics mentioned in this fiction unless otherwise specified. If specified, _**my works are copy righted**_ and may not be taken or used for anything without permission from me.

Thank You -K-


	2. how times have changed

We all hope that the friends we have when we are young are the ones we keep forever. We all hope that everything will always be as it is or was in one particular place in time. But the world always changes and life is never the same. 

It was summer again in Oregon. It would be yet another scorching, record-breaking season in the tiny town of Castle Rock. Here life was simple and time seemed to pass by more slowly. Sure the sleepy town had its share of problems, but summer was a time to put that all aside. It was a time for kids of all ages to take a swim and then head over to the Blue Point Diner for a burger and fries; for men to discuss baseball rather than politics in the billiard; and for women to gossip and make fresh squeezed lemonade.

Gossip is (like a good. strong brew) (A/N: of COFFEE, not beer) better hot, and there was always plenty. It was some what of a tradition in Catle Rock; there was always a juicy summer scandal. In 1959, it was the dissappearance, death and mysterious discovery of Ray Brower...

Things could never be the same after four best friends embarked on a life-changing, soul-searching journey that would redefine their realationships with one another. Chris and Gordie enrolled in college courses, while Teddy and Vern took shop classes and the four drifted apart. Chris and Gordie became two of the greatest success stories in Castle Rock.

Chris was certainly smart enough to be in college courses, but was always being harassed by his teachers who saw little potential in the Chambers kids. Chris graduated in the top qaurter of his class and went on to attend college. It was there he decided he wanted to become a lawyer- something he knew would help him shed his "wrong-side-of-the-track" image.

The shock of a lifetime came in 1962, when Mrs. Chambers announced she was expecting and due that summer. Neither Eyeball nor Chris could undertand how it was their new sibling was concieved; that is not to say that their mother would have been unfaithful, but Mr. Chambers was nearly always on a mean streak. Eric Chambers was born on July 9, 1962. When Eric was three, his brother Chris graduated high school and his father died. Chris could not honestly say that he was sad that his father died and neither could any of his siblings. His mother seemed to be the most broken up about her husband's departure from earth. But to Chris it seemed she cried mostly out of guilt. In 1971, Chris graduated from law school and became a partner at a prestigious firm just outside of Tulsa. He immediatly became attracted to a young secretary, Grace, who worked in his firm. They married in 1975 and in 1979 Grace became a stay-at-home mom to daughter Lauren.

Gordie could not have been happier to have his best friend in class with him. He and Chris made a pact freshman year; Gordie vowed to keep Chris motivated in his school work and Chris vowed to always encourage Gordie to write. Graduation was bitter sweet for the two friends and they went their seperate ways. Gordie majored in English and Creative Writing, but found jouranlism to be equally satisfying. Just three years out of college, Gordie became Gordon LaChance: Editor and Chief, of Castle Rock's daily newspaper. After long days in the newspaper's small office, Gordie would sit at his desk and turn to his first love- the art of fiction writng.

Writing was not Gordie's only passion. Gordie became infatuated with a fiery blonde- haired girl in his Creative Writing class. Her views on the world and her raunchy stories often got her "F's" from their professor, but won the approval of Gordie. He proposed to her by having her look over one of his latest concoctions. Even after marrying Jean and having a son Micheal, Gordie still wanted more. He wanted his works to be published and he would never give up on that possibility.

Vern Tessio was no genius but the common sense that he (eventually) developed allowed him to become an independant businessman. Using his knowledge of cars and his good people skills, Vern was able to open up his own machanic shop. VT Motors quickly became a busy spot in Castle Rock, mostly because the people adored the sweet man.

Teddy DuChamp's road was filled with rocks, sticks and many detours. His poor eyesight and a nearly unusable ear, denied him the chance to live out his dream. Teddy enlisted in each and every branch of the military possible, but to not avail. He had fallen in love once in high school, but never married. With no wiife and no new dreams to speak of, he settled for odd and seemingly dead end jobs around town. His mediocre life was thrown for a curve when he was arrested. Driving down the highway, Teddy was stopped by a policeman on suspicion of driving under the influence. Offended by the officer's accusation, Teddy retalliated and punched him. He was arrested for assualt on an officer and booked for DUI. After spending a few nights in jail, Teddy returned to life in Castle Rock without interuption.


	3. Castle Rock 1980

The sun was blazing and it was too hot to sleep. It was too noisy. Too stuffy. Everything was going wrong. It was just another day. A young child cried out impatiently and Maggie felt like doing the same. She had been on this grimy, sweaty bus for most of the morning, and it was nearing noon. An old man coughed violently and she wondered if his haggard breaths meant he too was dying of boredom. 

The bus's worn breaks screeched as the vehicle halted on the town's main street. There was no neat, black, tar covering the road. Instead, the bus's doors opened to slabs of gray cement, sprinkled with dust and pebbles. The town looked old fashioned and out of touch, with its mom and pop stores lining the pavement. Her hometown had not been extraordinarily big, but this place made her claustrophobic and boxed in.

Out of the blue, its small buildings stood towering over her as she realized she had no inkling of where she should go. Taking a firm hold of her heavy luggage, her eyes scoured the region before her. Her mind was rattled and she anxiously waited for a sensible idea to come to her. The paint-chipped bus sped off in an unknown direction. There was no turning back. She had no money, at least not for another bus ticket. Her hope diminished. Spotting a sidewalk, she set down her bags and reached in her pocket. Retrieving the crinkled bill, she decided her best bet was to feed the growling beast inside her stomach (A/N: she's not pregnant,thats a figure of speech).

Maggie entered the Blue Point Diner at a quarter after twelve, arriving with the rest of the lunch-hour customers. She admitted to herself she looked ridiculous with so much baggage about her arms. She took a seat in the far corner of the room and tried her best to situate her awkward bags. "What can I get'cha?" the waitress asked. She was older, and tapped her foot, as if to say "speed it up, honey". The name tag pinned to the tacky yellow outfit read Francine.

"A coke, cheeseburger and fries please" Maggie said.

"Uh huh, yup" muttered Francine as she scrawled out Maggie's order.  
"Thanks" she said halfheartedly. Maggie didn't care what happened as long as the end result was food in her mouth.

Frankly, Maggie would've eaten the napkin holder and its contents if she had to. Thinking and planning became nearly impossible, she was so tired. She gnawed her food ferociously, throwing her manners out the open window. Having finished her meal and paid, Maggie chose to spend the twenty dollars hidden in her suitcase and stay at a cheap hotel. She sipped her coke thoughtfully, her legs not yet willing to trudge across the street to the hotel.

All the regulars seemed to enter the cramped establishment at once. Maggie watched and listened contentedly. A man with stern eyes in his late thirties came through the door. Some of the younger diners stopped their jabbering to look, just as Maggie had done. His slow crisscrossing steps made Maggie think he came into the diner on a reprieve from his latest drinking binge. He slammed his palms against the off-white countertop obnoxiously. "Francie, I wan' an egg n' steak" he said, his speech slurring slightly.

"Coffee?" Francine asked. It certainly looked to Maggie that the man could certainly use some, hell probably the whole pot.

"Yeah, yeah sure" he waved his hand dismisfully. A young man giggled, most likely at the mans apparent need for caffeine. "Hey something funny you little punk?" There was no response from the offending party who did not want to confront the strange man. "Come on you little somebitch." Did he mean to say "son-of-a-bitch" and was so drunk that his words just ran together? Or was that really how he had meant to insult the shaking teenager?

"Aw lay off 'im Ace, he didn't mean nothin' by it" a voice of reason spoke out.

"Alright Bill" Ace said, willing to forget the whole thing. Breathing a sigh of relief and having done enough "people watching" for the day, she exited the diner and set off towards the Castle Rock Lodge.

No one seemed less excited to be working that day than the graying man sitting behind the lodge's front desk. "I need a room" Maggie stated with no emotion. The man made no attempts at making eye contact with her. "I have twenty-two dollars." Money talks.

"That comes to eighteen (dollars), room five." She nodded silently and headed into the long hallways of rooms, unlocked the door with the designated key and slid inside.

A clock on the bedside table noted the time was 1:30 PM on the longest day of her life. Pushing her belongings underneath the bed, she flopped down feeling defeated. Nothing; not the stress her anxious thoughts had caused her, nor the time of day would prevent her from falling into a deep, much needed and deserved sleep.


	4. by chance

(A/N: remember to review thanks -K-) 

Maggie slept soundly and dreamlessly. When she awoke, the clock read seven and she thought she should go out for some fresh air. Walking down the almost empty street she spotted a comforting sight- a movie theater. Her joy and excitement faded as she recalled how much money she had left. She would have to save that $3.89 until she could come up with a plan. But she was desperate to surround herself with something that was so familiar to her, or at least in the life she left behind.

She knew it was illegal. Technically, she was stealing. But she was so eager and willing to risk it. Her objective was simple; see the movie without getting caught. Maggie snuck to the back of the theater and the door silently opened, letting a burst of cold air hit her face. The film had just started and she crouched down in the seat, waiting to be immersed in the beautiful world of movies.

Minutes later, Maggie became aware of a young man who had taken the seat next to her without being noticed. He munched loudly on his popcorn, pausing to slurp his large beverage. Although Maggie loved the movies and was trying hard to keep her eyes on the screen, her eyes kept wondering toward that boy. He had light, but sad eyes nearly covered by sandy brown hair. He wore a pair of visibly distressed jeans with a plain white tee-shirt. It was at that moment Maggie wished she knew the boy; that would give her permission to talk to him.

Maggie, who was busy concentrating on two things at once did not see the movie attendant who was now checking everyone's ticket. "Oh shit" she said aloud, abandoning her manners. The obese man was now only three seats away from her. She couldn't help but panic. The boy in the next seat rifled through his pocket change and found his stub.

"Ma'am, ticket please" Maggie froze in her place. Seconds ticked by slowly in her unmoving silence.

"Oh, uh she's with me, you feel all right hun?" The boy suddenly asked her. "You see sir, she's not feeling well and I think I had better take her home." Maggie didn't say anything, she just made a pathetic face and the two strangers walked arm and arm as if they were old friends.

"Oh my God thank---" he cut her off.  
"Hey, don't worry about it, I've snuck in here a million times"  
"Well, thanks, but uh what about your movie?" She was somewhat embarrassed; she had made this person she didn't know lie for her. "Eh, I've seen it almost as many times as I've snuck in" he smiled warmly as he turned to walk down the street.

"Wait!" she called, his head turned to meet her glance. "What's your name?" Maggie asked shyly.

"Eric"

* * *

Gordie was extremely busy that day, he had been all week. He needed to go down to city hall and do research for his latest report in the Castle Rock Daily News. Next week was Castle Rock's one-hundredth anniversary and the paper would do a special anniversary edition, chronicling the events of the last one hundred years. There was also the usual news that had to be attended to. Gordie was overwhelmed. There was only one other person in the hall that day, a young woman Gordie did not recognize. This was strange, being that Castle Rock was so small and everyone knew everything there was to know about their neighbors. He was intrigued, but he did not want to be nosy. He entered a back room where all the town's newspapers articles and birth and death certificates were stored. Oddly enough, the girl he had been watching followed him.

* * *

Maggie was not sure if it was the dark and dreary building or what she was about to do that was making her somewhat depressed. She ignored her first instinct; to run as fast as she could out the door and wait until tomorrow. Maybe she wasn't ready. However, there was no guarantee she would ever be prepared for this. "This" was too big, she couldn't handle it. The small girl swallowed hard. She swallowed her fear and her pride.

The back room was even more grim than the previous rooms had been. Maggie had no idea where to begin. Her soft hand touched the torn paper, but she didn't dare pull it out of her pocket. What was written on that seemingly insignificant paper made her situation seem too real.

She held her breath and motioned toward the endless shelves that held birth and death records. Saying a quick, silent prayer, she began thumbing through the thick files.

* * *

Gordie's own search was not going well. Rummaging through the news archives for an interesting article was a tedious activity. Using the cliche "needle in a haystack" was an understatement. Gordie spotted the first article ever printed.

**9 July 1880 Construction begins on Castle Rock Town Hall** It was hard to imagine the very building he was standing in hadn't always existed.

**30 October 1929 Stock Market crashes! Banks close doors! Citizens outraged!** Gordie's parents had been teenagers then. Their lives had just begun. They would have to work hard to make ends meet and that was fine. Just so long as they were together. Life was simple then, even in the face of such uncertainty.

**28 August 1959 Young blueberry picker goes missing-  
**Gordie's heart skipped a beat. He didn't have to guess whom the article was about. He knew the date well, he thought about it often, how it had changed he and his friends. He felt sick, remembering the stench of the body and the way his face looked so angelic. He couldn't help but read on. **Ray Brower, 12 of nearby---** his eyes skimmed the page. **Search dogs have been sent out to comb the area but no evidence has turned up, foul play is not suspected.** Turning the pages lined in heavy laminating plastic, he came to the follow-up article to the Ray Brower saga.

**1 September 1959 Body of Ray Brower found! An anonymous phone call was made late yesterday afternoon-  
**It was enough to make Gordie, a grown man cry. He knew the Ray Brower story would be included in next week's edition. The story of the boy who was hit by the train was a legend in the eyes of many, especially among kids. It wouldn't be long now before his own son would know the story. In reality only a handful of people knew how Ray was found, but Gordie would never say a word as long as he lived. He had promised he wouldn't.

It was a little past twelve now, and Gordie was already severely fatigued. He was a procrastinator and he was pretty damn good at it. He scribed some important dates into his small pad, he'd come back later when he felt he could focus more on the project.  
**_7/09/1880- town hall 10/30/1929- stock market crash 8/28/1959- Ray Brower (#1) missing 9/1/1959- Ray Brower (#2) found_**

* * *

Her fingers trembled as she reached the clump of files she had been looking for, for what seemed like an eternity. Maggie's knees grew weak; this was the moment of her reckoning. The time she had been dreading since she had come to this itty bitty town was here. She took out a much weathered writing tablet and wrote down the words that would change the course of her life forever.

Once she was finished with the musty files, she had a decision to make. Should she continue her quest or wait another day? Walking out into the sun it was clear; "there's no day like the present" that's what her mother used to say.

* * *

Gordie sprinted across the street headed for his darkened office at the newspaper. Without looking, he stepped off the sidewalk but accidentally crashed into another, smaller body. "Oh Jesus! I'm so sorry, are you all right?" he held out his hand for her to take and the girl dusted herself off.

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine thanks" she said looking down. The notebook she had been clutching sat in the dust on the road.

"Oh here, let me" Gordie said politely and bent over to pick up the book. The cover had blown open, exposing the first page. The writing was small, but Gordie could clearly make out the name and information written on the college ruled lines. Gordie gasped and almost dropped what he had been holding. It read...  
(A/N: sorry to leave you on a cliffhanger, but i didn't want to give away the answer to the second question too soon. Don't worry all will be revealed in the next chapter. Cross my heart... Don't forget to review!)


	5. a name is worth a thousand words

(A/N: I apoligize if this chapter gets a little strange...it just goes to show you what you're willing to do when you're desperate) 

Gordie just could not believe it. He was too young for his sight to be going, he blinked several times making sure there was nothing blurring his vision. Nothing. His mouth felt like it was full of cotton and he struggled to keep his insides from exiting his lips. The girl cleared her throat, telling him to hand over the notebook. "Thank you" she said worriedly and reached out to pull the book from his hands. "How do you know him?" he asked searching her eyes for her thoughts.

* * *

Maggie felt weak and was trying hard to suppress the tremors that were presently rocking her body. What could this man possibly know about her situation? This was absurd! How can someone who simply offered to pick up the things she had dropped know her secret? Was it all a cruel joke that her mother and God were playing on her, or was it some freak coincidence? There was no way of knowing. She snatched the notebook from the stranger's hands and bolted for the hotel.

Her legs had never carried her so far, so fast. Her breathing became labored as she mounted the stairs, not looking back to see if the man had followed her. Not wasting a millisecond she closed and locked the door to her room as soon as her foot rested on the carpet inside.

* * *

Gordie was floured. What was going on? He didn't have the slightest idea, accept that, that very frightened girl held the key to the strangest mystery he'd ever encountered. He sauntered over to the reception desk at the lodge, the building he'd watched the girl run into. "Can I help you sir?" a beautiful woman asked.

"Uh well yeah, I was wondering if you have a young girl staying with you; uh about five feet max, light brown hair."

"If we did sir, I couldn't just give that information to just anybody, for all I know you could be a rapist or an ax murderer." At any other time, Gordie would have found her blunt explanation amusing, but his hunger to know what that girl was up to overrode his sense of humor. "No, I know but this is an emergency, that girl is my niece"

"niece?" the woman was already suspicious. "Well, in that case, what's her name?" She smiled slyly, it would seem the "jig" was up.

Gordie cleverly remembered the name written on the front cover. He had seen it only for a second, just long enough to read it. "Well, if she's your niece, then what's her name?" The girl must've thought she'd trapped him.

"Maggie"

"All right sir, I'm sorry for the interrogation, she's in room five upstairs."

"That's okay" he sighed as he tackled the stairway. This was crazy! Was Gordie really going to go up to this little girl and question her until he found her answers sufficient? He knocked on the door softly, saying "housekeeping" as he rapped on the door. Gordie thought as he heard her feet shuffle against the carpet, he could be arrested if the girl had the mind to make up a story and have him locked up.

* * *

Maggie's heart stopped beating and she struggled to breathe. She didn't know this man; for all she knew he could be out to kill her. She peered through the small window in the door. It was the man she had met on the street. What the hell was happening? She was about to call for help when she heard the man speak.

* * *

Feeling guilty about posing as a worker, he recanted his statement. "Okay its not housekeeping but..."Gordie talked softly through the door, trying to explain himself. "I know you're in there" that didn't sound so good. "No, no that's not what I meant; what I meant to say was that I can help. I'm not just some crazy guy following you, I promise. Please talk to me I know I can help" he pleaded. He felt strangely close to this girl and wanted to help her solve whatever problems she was faced with.

* * *

Maggie was not sure what she should do. Her brain told her that letting this seemingly good Samaritan could be a bad idea; but her heart said she should have a little faith in the common man. "Who are you?" she asked the man behind the door.

"Gordie" there was a long awkward pause as they both thought of something to say. "Can I come in?" he asked shyly

"No, no I'll come out." After all, what if this was a trap.

She appeared out from behind the oak compartment, taking in the endless hallway and the man's face all at once. Maggie kept as much distance as she could between her and the stranger. He made no attempts at starting the conversation; he was waiting for her to speak. "I don't want to talk here" she said finally "could we go somewhere else?" Somewhere private, but a place that has other people too, she thought.

"There's a lounge downstairs" he offered.

"Fine" she said making sure to stay behind him as they made their way to the stairs.

* * *

The lounge was empty aside from the bar tender who sat reading the paper behind the counter. Gordie gulped loudly and took a seat opposite Maggie. "Why are you so insistent about helping me?" she asked.

"I know him" he paused to let out a shallow breath "the man, the name in your notebook." She cast her eyes to the darkly stained floor. "How?"

"He was one of my best friends when I was a kid." He couldn't imagine how this girl could be so familiar with Teddy that she would come to Castle Rock. " I just have to ask" he tried to say as gently as possible "why are you here?" Tears emerged from their ducts and settled in the girls deep hazel eyes. Sensing that he could see the agony displayed on her face, she composed herself before she spoke. Not a tear escaped the brown-but-mostly-green orbs.

"I'm here to meet my father; the name on that page, its my father's."

(A/N: Ok so let me know what you think. Keep in mind this chapter is not intended to be entirely realistic. I "sincerely" (Vern) apologize for taking so long to update and I'll do my best to add a chapter soon)


	6. the kindness of strangers

Gordie's eyes went from one side of her face to the other. Teddy. All Gordie could picture was Teddy. Teddy being twelve and crazy. The truth was he never stopped being crazy. Everything he loved doing, he did passionately. Maybe that was the root of the problem, his passion always got the better of him. 

"His daughter?" he breathed She sighed and nodded her head in confirmation. Gordie shuffled his brain for a memory. How many girls had Teddy seen in high school? How many did he know of? "Then you're how old?" he asked trying to place the time of her conception.

"I'll be sixteen in January." Sixteen years ago, Gordie, Chris, Teddy and Vern were her age.

"Are you sure? Are you..." he faltered "...you're sure that Teddy is your father?"

"Yes" Maggie said unfeeling.

"Teddy DuChamp?" he questioned

"Teddy DuChamp born November fifth, 1947. Son of Deborah and Thomas DuChamp" (A/N: I don't recall any of the parents getting names in the movie or the book, but please correct me if these minor characters have names, I'm trying to be as authentic as possible) she recited without pause. So that's why he had seen her in the town hall; she was trying to find family information.

"Yeah, that's him all right" Gordie said. "But who told you he was your father?"

"My mother, before she died." Gordie felt his heart drop. How awful; she comes to this crappy, "hole in the wall" town to meet her only surviving parent.

"I'm- I'm so sorry."

"I know you are, everyone is, but really now that you've found out what you wanted to find out I really think it's time for me to go" she said anxiously as she rose from the table for two.

"Well now wait a second, where are you staying?"

"Right here in the lodge, you're the one that tracked down my room." "Oh that's right" Gordie replied bashfully. "How much money do you have?"

"Excuse me?" the tone of her voice was now teetering on furious. "Don't be ridiculous you can't possibly have enough money to stay here more than a couple of days. That's not nearly enough time for you to meet and get to know your dad. No way, you're coming home with me. I grew up with your father and he'd kick my ass if he knew I just left you here all by yourself in a strange town."

"I don't know" she said "We just met not more than two hours ago" she stated and of course she was right. But for Gordie taking this girl in was like making up for some of what she had lost; and even if it wasn't, it made him feel better.

* * *

Maggie finally agreed after several minutes of analyzing the pros and cons of staying at the lodge or going home with Gordie. Gordie followed her to her room and took on the role of bell hop. "We'll go get you settled at my house, you can meet my wife and my son, then you can take a rest or go exploring if you want, then we'll have dinner and we can take it from there." As Maggie held the door open for him Gordie heard her say

"this is really nice, don't get me wrong, but you really don't have to do this; any of this".

"You should never do things just because you have to."

* * *

Maggie and Gordie raced across Castle Rock's busiest street to avoid the oncoming traffic. "Here, just let me put your bags in the trunk and you can sit up front" Gordie said as he fumbled with the key to the Buick. Maggie obeyed quietly and clicked the seat belt into its place. "Okay" Gordie said almost as if he were talking to himself.

* * *

The ride to Gordie's quaint house was just a few minutes long but Maggie had to do all she could not to surrender to the one thing she wanted; sleep. The black sedan drove into the driveway in front of the aging house and Gordie circled the car to open the door for her. "Come on this way" his hand motioned her to come forward as he unlocked the front door. "Go ahead in, sit down, make yourself comfortable and I'll be back." Maggie remained silent as she plopped dramatically into a stiff kitchen chair. Her eyes wandered all over the kitchen and into the small sitting room. Gordie returned and pulled a glass from the cupboard. "Milk?" he suggested

"no thank you'" she said tiredly. Somehow she managed to muster enough energy to start a conversation. "You have a very nice house" "I'd like to think so. Actually this was my parents house, I grew up here. I think its nice to know that my son and I both grew up in the same house." He drained the contents of his glass and set it on the counter "would you like me to show you around?"

"sure".

There was no need to explain the kitchen or living room so instead Gordie and Maggie continued upstairs to the bedrooms. "This first door here is the room I share with my wife, the next is the bathroom, then here we have Michael...that's my son...that's his room, and here we have the guest room, your room." He turned the knob and pushed the door until its handle touched the wall on the other side. "The closet's empty as are the drawers in the bureau, so you should have more than enough room for your things."

"Thanks" Maggie said as she stifled a yawn. Gordie slapped his hands on his thighs

"well that's it, I'm just gonna go call my wife and tell her you're here". Maggie's heart fluttered

"are you sure she won't mind?"

"Don't worry about it" he assured her as he shut the door behind him.

* * *

Maggie organized her belongings and placed them in the chest of drawers. She then proceeded to borrow hangers from the closet and hang up her "good" clothes. Hanging a warm wool sweater her mother had given her she noticed something on the inside of the closet. It was a growth chart for a little boy, Denny. Maggie pursed her lips together sentimentally, she could just tell that the house had been full of love.

* * *

Gordie phoned the school where his wife worked. He surmised that school would be out soon but that Jean might elect to stay after hours to correct papers. "Hello Gloria its Gordon, Jean LaChance's husband...fine, fine, thank you ma'am, and you?...well that's great, could you please have Jean call me at home?, its important...you too good-bye." The elderly secretary said she'd give Jean the message. Meanwhile all Gordie could do was wait.

The phone rang five minutes later and Gordie answered it on its second ring. "Hello?" it was Jean.

"Hi Gordie, Gloria said it was important."

"Yeah, hi Hun, its just I ran in to someone today"

"oh?"

"She's Teddy DuChamp's daughter"

"Teddy has a daughter? I didn't know that, I always--"

"he doesn't know."

"Oh my God oh my God..."

"There's more; her mother died and she has no place to say so I--" "She's staying at our house." she stated, her voice unwavering.

"I'm sorry I know it was rash but--"

"Gordie don't even think about it, I know you well enough to know that you're just trying to help out a nice girl who needs it" she laughed. Gordie still felt guilty about not having a lengthy discussion before making an extremely important decision. "I'll be home soon and then you can formally introduce us"

"sounds great" he said in gratitude.

"I love you" she reminded him

"I think I love you more" he said sweetly into the phone's receiver.

* * *

Michael LaChance arrived at his house at the usual time; 3:15, on the dot. The car was parked in front, which meant his father would be upstairs working on his articles until dinner time. He slung his heavy book-bag over his shoulder and entered the house. Gordie was standing in the kitchen doorway, hands crossed in front of his chest. This was very odd. "Someone die?"

"no, no, nobody died"

"so Granma's okay?"

"you're grandmother is fine."

"Okay" Michael's brow furrowed into his head in thought. "What's going on then?"

"I'm doing a favor for a friend" Gordie answered vaguely. "I'm letting a girl stay here; she doesn't have a home and she's here to see her father."

"So why can't she stay with him?" his simple question was turning very complicated, very quickly.

"They've never met"

"What? How can--"

"Michael please, I'll explain everything to you later, now go do your homework and get washed up for dinner."

"Whatever" Michael said irritated with his father's snippy attitude.

* * *

Gordie came through the door and knocked on the wall next to the doorframe. But the sleeping teenager did not stir. "Maggie?" he called softly, not wanting to startle her. He crept to the edge of the bed and tapped her gently on the shoulder. "Maggie? Dinner's ready when you are" he said smiling. Then he left her to shake the grogginess from her brain.

* * *

Just as Michael spooned a heaping dollop of mashed potatoes onto his plate, Maggie sat next to him silently. "Honey, Michael, this is Maggie; Maggie this is my wife Jean and my son Michael" Gordie said, attempting to break the ice.

"Nice to meet you, my condolences on the loss of your mother." "Thank you Ma'am."

"Michael, don't you have something you wanna say to Maggie?" his mother asked.

"Oh..." he sighed "hi." Maggie returned his somber greeting with a failed smile.

"He's shy" Jean explained and Michael rolled his eyes in annoyance.

Maggie was too nervous too eat; but she did not want to be a rude guest so she picked at the chicken and gravy before her. She did not know what to say and her situation would hardly be considered polite conversation. So she spent the dinner in silence, listening to the LaChances chat about their ordinary days; like she and her mother had once done. After dinner was concluded, she assisted Jean in washing the dishes, while Michael and Gordie cleared the table. The four then went off in separate directions; Gordie to his office; Jean to her bedroom to correct papers; Michael to the living area to watch the latest fad in television programming.

* * *

Gordie waited until Maggie had ventured to her room and he had said "goodnight" to Michael. His wife lay in bed reading the next installment in a series he was writing. He sat by her side glumly.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

"Nothing, it's just I feel terrible, it's been a rough day."

"You must have been shocked" Jean always knew exactly what Gordie was thinking.

"Shocked isn't the word" he laughed habitually. "It seems like just yesterday we were kids, you know and now Teddy's a father."

"Well you're a father too, and Chris's girl's got to be over a year old by now."

"Yeah, but that's different"

"I know" she admitted defeatedly.

"He doesn't even know he has a child, and she's almost a woman! I can't get over it! "

"I know, I know, but try not to upset yourself" she soothed.

"What are we gonna do?" he asked, fainting in mental exhaustion on the king-sized bed.

"I'm not sure, is there someone you can call and tell them what's going on?"

"No, I don't think so and I don't know if I should get anyone else involved."

"What about someone who knows Teddy?" she offered.

"What, like Chris?" he immediately ate his own words.

Anytime Gordie had been fed up with being a ghost haunting his own home, Chris was always there to give him some advice. Gordie had thought about running away to Tulsa countless times, but never followed through because Chris had been able to talk him out of it. Perhaps his juvenile instinct to call Chris and ask him to help form a plan was not too out of touch with reality. "What other choices do you have?" his wife asked.

Gordie had no other choice. Reluctantly he made up his mind; he'd call Chris tomorrow and hopefully the two could make sense of the strange development Gordie had stumbled upon.


	7. father figure

(A/N: The title of this chapter was taken from the song Father Figure by George Michael...see footnote(s) for additional details) 

Another hectic day, another low profile case, another chance to prove he was something. Chris started his day with a steaming cup of day old coffee and toast that was so burnt it was practically charred. Something strange was in the air and Chris felt uneasy as he drove to the law office where he worked. Sure, Chris was a part of a well respected firm but he felt like "the man" was holding him back and he desperately desired to branch out and have a practice of his own.

It was just about 6:30 a.m. when he left his sleeping wife and daughter, Lauren. He loved that little girl more than anything. She was perfect; happy, exuberant, but also sweet and kind. It simply amazed Chris how one person could love him so unconditionally; without knowing or caring about his sometimes less-than-pleasant childhood.

* * *

Gordie's stomach churned as waves of acid and nerves crashed inside of him. He had finished his morning cup of coffee, Michael was off at school, Jean, at work and Maggie was no where to be seen. Gordie needed to call Chris; he needed to stop lolligagging around and just do it.

The house was silent and Gordie began dialing the number he had located in the phone book. The book's pages flailed in the early summer breeze (A/N: Lets say its early june-ish) and he used a free hand to hold down the runaway paper. He fixed his eyes on Chris's number, as he collected his thoughts. Chambers- Chris & Grace 554-1091 (A/N: Of course I don't know any numbers in the Oregon area so obviously I've made these up; creative licensing).

The first phone call failed to produce any kind of reassurance for Gordie. He needed to see how he could handle such a complicated and potentially painful situation. However, Chris was not at home and Gordie resolved he should try to reach him at his place of business. Grace, Chris's wife was extremely polite and gave Gordie the number to Castle Rock Legal Services; the third highest rated law office in the state.

"Good morning, Castle Rock Legal Services, to whom may I direct your call?" the receptionist chirped.

"Christopher Chambers please" Gordie had not called Chris "Christopher" since the first day they met.

"Mr. Chambers is in conference with another client at the moment, would you like me to take a message or schedule an appointment?" "An appointment please"

"certainly, how's 12:35 this afternoon?"

"That would be great, thank you."

"Thank you sir, have a great day, good-bye."

* * *

"Mr. Chambers, do you have a minute?" Rebecca inquired, holding a long list of messages in one hand, and knocking with the other. "Come in" he answered indifferently.

"I've got some messages for you sir, actually a lot!" she laughed nervously.

"Rebecca will you quit it with the sir stuff, Christ, I'm not anyone real important."

"Not according to Mr. O'Brien, he says you're one of the most dedicated partners he's ever had."

"I thought Meyers was" Chris chuckled. Old Mr. O'Brien said that about every one of the lawyers in the firm; that way he could get them to work more hours on more difficult cases without requesting more overtime or special benefits. Chris never fell for O'Brien's "you'd be the perfect man for this case" bullshit; he just couldn't find anyone willing to work that weekend.

"Oh", Rebecca never got any of his jokes.

"Lots of calls?"

"Yes..." she flipped through the pile expertly "Daniel Rodman called, his wife is threatening to take custody again; Jennifer Ender called saying she didn't know if she could attend the court proceedings next weekend, of course I told her you had no control over court appointments and that she should just reschedule her hair appointment..." she began to trail off "...you know she never gets her hair colored just right, I should tell her about this place that I go to--" "Rebecca!" Chris cried impatiently, placing his head on his cluttered desk.

"Oh, yeah, sorry, A Mr. Gordon LaChance called and will meet with you this afternoon."

"I'm sorry, can you repeat that?"

"Gordon LaChance, he left a number, if you would like me to tell him you can't make it--"

"Gordon LaChance?"

"That's what he said when I spoke to him." Chris nodded, in shock. "Is something wrong?"

"No, no, make sure to let me know when Mr. LaChance gets here, will you?"

"Sure thing, right away"

"thank you, if thats all, I've got a lot of cases to sift through." Without a word, Rebecca left Chris' s disorganized office to wait for the mysterious Gordon LaChance.

* * *

"Maggie?" Gordie shouted "Maggie?" he repeated "Im--" his thought was cut short as he heard Maggie bound down the stairs to answer his call. "Hey, how'd you sleep last night?"

"Okay, I guess"

"missed you at breakfast" he said kindly

"well Im kinda' a late sleeper and not really all that big on breakfast." "Not interested in breakfast!" the man put on an astonished air and she returned his tone with a smile. "Well then, I want you to make yourself at home and help yourself to whatever we've got in that fridge, anything you want, its yours."

"Thanks, could I have a glass of water please?"

"Sure I'll get you one" Gordie paused to reach high above his head to nab a glass.

"Do you mind if I ask you something?" she inquired after inhaling the smooth liquid.

"Did'nt you just ask me something?" it was the lamest thing he could have possibly said and she tried to smile. "I'm just kidding, I'm kidding you can ask me anything you want to."

"Who's Denny?" His energy faded and his expression crumbled; he had not yet thought of Denny today.

"He was my older brother" he said somberly.

"Was?" she asked, almost afraid.

"He died when I was twelve (AN: Gordie might have been eleven, it never specifies when his birthday is)." Her face too fell and she was now very close to tears

"I'm sorry" she willed herself to say

"me too, after all he was my parents favorite" Gordie stated, the acid dripping in his voice.

"What do you mean?" "Denny was the good son, the football star, a decent student, a ladies man and me, well I was shy and not half the athlete my brother was and after he died my parents didn't seem to have the need or the want to be parents any more, I was the invisible child." She listened to the sounds of his breathing, when it returned to normal she began her apologies.

"I'm sorry, I should have never brought it up"

"No, its okay".

"Was there something you wanted?"

"Yeah, I'm goin' out for a bit, you mind waiting for Michael to get home from school?"

"No".

"Okay then, I won't be too long, I'll be home for dinner anyway." "Okay" she said not knowing what to do with herself untill Micheal arrived home.

Gordie LaChance was ushered into the office of Chris Chambers immediatly after entering the building. "He's been expecting you" Chris' young secretary said as she moitioned for Gordie to sit in a strait-backed chair opposite Chris' law degree. "I'll see if he's ready to see you" she laughed, but her stab at humor went unnoticed. Gordie was much too preoccupied, in a matter of minutes he would be face-to-face with the best friend from his childhood.

* * *

The meeting was adjourned and Chris ran to his office, his chest throbbing with anxiousness, and guilt. He hadn't even seen or talked to Gordie in five years and that meeting was an unplanned run-in at the old diner. His face was glazed in sweat, his hands damp and clammy. He was beginning to see what a heart attack might feel like. The knob turned slowly, he took every second he could to breathe-- in-and-out.

* * *

Gordie bounced his knee up and down frantically, it seemed Chris's assistant--secretary--whatever left eons ago. Maybe she got lost. Maybe she got murdered. He imagined her laying broken and bloodied on the sidewalk, a grim creature similar to Jack the Ripper standing over her limp body, laughing maniachally. Maybe---. Chris entered through the door and Gordie immediatly felt like he'd never gone out of his life. The two stared at eachother for the next couple of sections in time. "Chris" Gordie sighed

"LaChance" Chris said, his reply stinging Gordie. "Well I never thought I'd see the day. Good ole Gordan LaChance in my office" he smirked, letting his lips settle over his teeth "legal woes?" he asked. Gordie laughed uncomfortably

"no, no".

"Are you sure? No troubles in paradise? Someone suing you for breach of contract in a book publishing deal? Marital issues? Come on what is it?"  
"None of those, I do have a problem though"

* * *

"Not legal?" Chris asked, his head spinning, what in the hell was Gordie getting at? 

"What time's your lunch?" Gordie inquired his breath catching on the words.

* * *

The Blue Point. Both boys had their own histories with the diner. The place was dead and the boys quickly got a table in the back of the dining room. "What's this about LaChance?" Chris asked harshly his words mildly stinging Gordie. A farmiliar voice asked for their order but the two ignored her. 

"See, I met this girl..." Gordie wasn't sure this was exactly the right way to tell him.

"Well if that's what this is about Gordo, my only advice is don't get caught and don't get the little tramp pregnant, now if you'll--"

"What? No, no, no, no, no I-I love my wife, and my son, no if-if you'll-you'll..." he rambled; shocked his ex-best friend would make such an accusation.

* * *

"Listen Gordo I really don't..." Chris made a move to get up from the leather covered booth

"Dammit Chris will you just sit down and listen to me?!" Gordie shreiked. Chris's face was like stone as he sat back down; Gordie hadn't yelled at him since they were children. "And please don't call me "Gordo"" he said making his voice quiet, and soft.

Chris finnally regained his stature and he began speaking again, looking directly into Gordie's deep, brown eyes. "What-what's on your mind?"

"The girl I told you about..." Chris nodded that he knew the subject Gordie spoke of. "...she's Teddy's daughter."

"Teddy who?"

"Teddy"

"Teddy?" Chris's eyes widened understanding which Teddy Gordie meant. "How can that be?" Gordie remained silent.

"She's never met her father."

"You mean Teddy doesn't know that he's procreated a child with some woman?" Chris asked boldly, while Gordie grimaced at the word "procreate".

"Of course he doesn't, if he did, I wouldn't have a problem. Maggie is almost sixteen, which means Teddy was a teenager when... well ya' know"

"Teddy was a teenage father?" Chris cupped his chin in his hand "Certainly looks that way" Gordie said looking at his still black coffee.

"Do you know who the mother is?" Chris asked

"No clue, I mean who did he date in high school?" Gordie wondered aloud

"He didn't so much "date" in high school, he kinda just went with them, know what I mean?"

* * *

"tsk, yeah". Gordie was quiet for a moment as he thought. Who did Teddy see in high school?

There was Belinda and Carol, they lived down the street from Chris, were best friends, and Teddy liked them both. Not only did he like them, he dated them. Unfortunatly he dated them at the same time. Trixie (who's real name was Victoria and was notoriously nicknamed "tricky vicky". Trixie was just a shortened pet name) was a girl you didn't screw with, but you probubly would screw. Teddy took advantage of her and even stole money from her purse to buy drugs from the dealer across from the school. After Trixie got expelled for inappropriate acts in the girl's bathroom, the troubled young lady moced out of state. But there were others. Teddy ditched Molly because she wasn't willing to "put out" and suzanne after her.

Then there was Elizabeth "Beth" Young. Teddy acted like he was walking on clouds everytime the boys passed he and Elizabeth. He was truly in love with her. But after an explosive argument outside Teddy's house, Beth simply dissappeared. Teddy never spoke of her or had such strong feelings for anyone again. At least in all the time Gordie had seen Teddy.

"Do you think it could be Beth?" Gordie asked

"It could be anyone we went to high school with" Chris scoffed "I just can't believe Teddy, our Teddy is a parent" Chris said exaspirated. "Yeah I know, I know" Gordie was secretly infuriated. Teddy had been bestowed a blessing that deserves all the love and care a person can give it and he didn't even know about it.

"How are you going to do it man?"

"I just don't know, I mean there's just no way of telling what Teddy'll do."

"Teddy's always been crazy like that"

"that's the problem".

Gordie felt a sudden pang deep in his heart. He remembered what his wife had said to him the day Jean annouced she was pregnant. _"We don't really need the guest room do we?" _

_"Well where are our families going to stay when they come to visit?" _

_"More importantly, where is our baby going to stay? I mean we can't very well keep he or she in a closet!"_ Gordie hadn't caught on at first and then he felt a rush of joy and fear swim through his veins. He jumped for joy; he knew nothing could ever replace the feelings he had for his future child.

From the instant he held Michael in his arms he knew that he had done something right. Michael Dennis was the one thing his father would be proud of. Gordie had never seen Jean so happy, perhaps she too was thinking that this was the start of a new learning experience, bringing up this new life. Unconditional love, that was something Gordie knew Chris and only Chris could truly appreciate.

* * *

Chris never thought he would make a good father for any child. He had all these supressed feelings and fears. Chris would wake up in a cold sweat having dreamt he would beat his own child. He never told Grace, he thought she would think he was a monster. He certainly could not have prepared himself for loving a little girl as much as he did. He prayed that God or whatever that cosmic, all powerful being up in the sky was that He would give Chris the right to deserve her. Being a dad and having a little girl changed everything; he got to be the hero for an innocent creature who knew nothing about his scarred past. He never thought he could feel so fufilled.

Chris's thoughts were interrupted by a loud "refill?" from Francine "Uh, uh no, no thank you". Chris never imagined he would have to ask his best friend what they had been doing lately. The fact of the matter was that they no longer knew anything about each other. "What have you been up to, how's the writing going? I read your name every day in the paper."

"It its been good, it's been good I mean I love my job at the newspaper but I'm still writing and basically now I'm waiting to get a publishing deal."

"Yeah? good for you I mean I always knew you could do it" his own fake laugh made himself sick, he just didn't know what to say to Gordie.

"But what about you, Mr. look-at-my-big-office-with-a-view?" Gordie's voice was just as tense.

"I-Ive been working. I moved out to Tulsa for a bit and then I got this job here in town. I like it I do, but what I really want is to be my own boss, I want to open my own practice." The two men finally had a peice of common ground. They both were happy with their lives but still they wanted more. "Aw shit man, I'd love to stay but my lunch is over" Chris said fixing his sport jacket "if you need me, you obviously know where to contact me, I'm going to help you figure this out, in the mean time, I'll see you" Chris stated, walking though the glass plated door and across the street.

* * *

"Not if I see you first." Gordie muttered under his breath, paying the bill.

(Footnotes: this chapter's title is also the title of the song "Father Figure" preformed George Michael from the album "Faith" copyright 1987 words/music by Yorgos Kyriatau Panayioutou-- AKA George Michael( released by Epic))


	8. fighting rumors part I

(A/N: Sorry if this chapter is a little bit shorter than the others) 

Michael tapped his short, dirty fingernails on his school desk. He ran his hand over the carvings "EB + RW" "school sucks" and "grass is a blast". He was frustrated; in just a few minutes he'd be walking home again, just as he did every afternoon, but this time she would be there. Who was this Maggie anyway and why did his dad feel the need to be a good Samaritan, why couldn't he just leave well enough alone? The bell shrieked loudly through the school, signaling an end to another day. Michael didn't even bother to wait for his friend Anthony, he had to get home and show Maggie who was boss.

The walk home was so warm Michael stripped off his spring jacket and let it drag behind him. How long did his father intend on letting Maggie stay? Didn't his opinion matter? Michael faced the front door, but did not open approach it. Instead, he crept to the bay windows located in the front of the living room. No sign of her. He backed up onto the grass letting his eyes wander upwards into Uncle Denny's old room. He spotted Maggie lying face-up on the plain comforter writing something. The pen glided across the page effortlessly, she never heard Michael storm inside the front door, letting it slam behind him.

Something inside his twelve year old heart snapped. She was making herself comfortable, she was making herself at home! He shoved his bag onto the table ignoring the books as they tumbled out. Maggie came up behind him saying "you dropped this" and handed him the grammar book.

"No, I didn't" Michael pointed out ungratefully.

"Oh" she sighed and leaned over the fridge as Michael reached for a brownie in the fridge. "Your father had to go out on an errand so--" "So why didn't you go with him?" oh how he wished she would have. " 'Cuz I wasn't invited" she explained.

"I wonder why" Michael looked directly into the girl's eyes hoping to intimidate her.

"Excuse me?" Maggie stepped away from the refrigerator.

"You heard me" he shot at her, his mouth curling up in a smirk. "You don't seem to get it, you are not part of this family so don't get so comfy cosey, 'kay?"

* * *

"I know I'm not part of this family; I had a family of my own you know! Don't worry, I don't want to be here anymore than you want me to. I just thought it was nice that your mom and dad let me stay here, enjoy your brownie!" she screamed throwing a plate of brownies onto the counter.

Maggie let the anger build in her face before she walked away, stomping upstairs as she came to "her" room. Maggie bit back the tears that soon flooded her eyes. She just wanted to be home again, to live in the white house with beige shutters and a white, wooden door. She threw the notebook she had been scribbling in, it crashed loudly against the blue walls. She didn't blame Michael completely; he was caught in the middle of a terribly awkward situation. She felt the walls close in around her again, just as they had done before. The night her mother died she had felt all the rooms in the hospital crowd around her, sandwiching her between the two sides of the hall. She desperately needed air, good, fresh air.

* * *

Gordie felt slightly better. Chris had promised to do everything he could, but until Gordie talked face-to-face with Teddy, there could be no plan of action. It had begun to rain steadily, as afternoon slowly turned to night and Gordie tried not to track fresh mud onto the kitchen tile.

"Where's Maggie?" Gordie panted as he came in the door dripping wet.

"How should I know, does it look like we're buddies?" Michael asked roughly

"No, but I hope your not being as rude to her as you were to me just now" Gordie scolded ripping the pencil Michael had been using from his hand. "Can you please go get her?" Gordie pleaded pointing to the staircase.

"Fine."

* * *

Uncle Denny's old room was quiet; maybe she was just blowing off steam, writing in that notebook he'd seen her with earlier. He hadn't meant to make her upset; he just needed to tell Maggie how he really felt. There was no crime in being truthful. But had Michael crossed the line, from truthful to hurtful?

* * *

Outside the air was filled with the scent of the coming season. Maggie had once loved many things, including summer. But now she wished she could prevent time from moving forward. She hugged her own shoulders walking slowly as puddles gathered beneath her sandaled feet.

* * *

The room was empty, the window left slightly ajar; Maggie had run off. Michael's stomach lurched forward; he'd done this. He'd made Maggie so upset, she'd ran away. Then another disturbing thought came to him; Maggie didn't know Castle Rock well enough to not get into trouble. There was no choice in the matter, they had to go and look for her.

* * *

"Mike! Maggie!" Gordie placed his left foot on the first stair.

"Dad! Dad, she's gone, she's not here!" a visibly guilt-ridden Michael called from the hallway.

* * *

"Is it my fault?" Michael asked

"I don't think it's totally your fault Mike"

"well I'm sorry anyway."

"Don't tell me, tell Maggie" Michael couldn't look at his father. "We'll find her." Gordie consoled. The rain poured violently from a cloud above the two and they pressed out of their yard and into the heart of Castle Rock.

* * *

The rain beat down on Maggie's small body as she moved at a varying pace through the streets of Castle Rock. She wasn't sure where she was going, she just needed to escape; she had felt like the walls were closing in on her, leaving her no oxygen and no room to think, so she ran. She climbed out of the window onto the roof and used the tree limbs from the blossoming cherry tree as a ladder. She hurried away from the LaChance's home not wanting Gordie to find her missing. She ran until her entire body ached and her lungs could no longer hold her breath. What now?

With no cars in sight Maggie raced across another road, straight into a gaping pot hole filled with muddy rain water. The warm mud stuck to her jeans and her sweatshirt "shit!" she cried looking at the damage. "this is just perfect..." she rambled blinded by her anger.

"Swimming?" a voice asked. Maggie looked up to see the boy at the movie theater, Eric.

"Sure, in water that would probably give me some sort of disease and reaches my knees, who could resist?" she laughed quietly. She balanced on her heels and stood up.

"That sucks"

"yeah"

"if you weren't swimming, what the hell were you doing?"

"I don't know, I just needed to go for a walk"

"in a torrential downpour?"

"the weather doesn't scare me". She began walking again and Eric followed.

"Well, where are you going?"

"not sure" she said walking briskly away

"well will you at least tell me your name?"

"Maggie"

"Maggie, I'm--"

"Eric, I remember, you saved my butt at the movies a couple nights ago."

"That I did" his smile was big and bright.

* * *

Gordie and Michael had been looking for almost a half hour, and it was nearing dinner time. They had scoured every street and corner they could think of, with no luck. "Holy shit!" Gordie screamed as he and Michael dodged the rain drops.

"Dad, you don't need to hold my hand, I'm perfectly capable of going across a road"

"you almost got hit by a car on the last street!" Gordie reminded his unpleased son.

"It's not my fault the moron didn't stop"

"he did stop, you just didn't wait, now come on keep looking."

* * *

Eric spotted a man and his son looking for something or maybe someone. "Maggie?!" the man called. Eric recognized him as Mr. LaChance, the chief writer of the town's newspaper. Eric also knew Gordie from old photographs kept in a closet in what was now his room, this was Chris's best friend from forever ago.

"Uh, I think they're looking for you" No sooner did Eric utter the words, Eric turned to see Maggie had disappeared. "Great" Eric muttered.

* * *

Michael began to think deeply about what could have happened to Maggie by now. Where in the hell could she have gone? A pair of feet sloshed through the wet road to reach Gordie and Michael. "Um, I think I saw someone that belongs to you" Eric stated blatantly

"which way? "Gordie asked eagerly

"Down May Street, if you hurry you could probably catch her." "Thanks, Mike lets go!"

* * *

Across from the town hall is a large oak tree, planted there some years ago, legend had it, by two lovers who later carved their initials into the tree trunk on the one year anniversary of their wedding day. Maggie was stooped over feeling the wind and the decreasing temperature bite at her feet and nose. What if Gordie was worried about her, she didn't want him to think she was this irresponsible on a regular basis. She felt full of shame and guilt and wondered if she should start heading back, and explain it was all just a misunderstanding.

* * *

Gordie had stopped in front of his office building, asking himself where Michael and he should go to next. By this time they had been to "the view", exploring the rich and snobby parts of the town and had even been by where Chris had grown up. Maggie was no where they had looked. The LaChance men decided to look where Eric Chambers had suggested. Michael was the one who pointed out that they hadn't searched the main street of town. "I think that's her!" Michael shouted, he had spotted a small girl under the aged "lover's tree".

* * *

"Maggie!" Gordie yelled making his way towards the shivering girl. "What were you thinking?"

"I-I-I--"

"it doesn't matter, you had me worried!" Gordie grabbed her impulsively and hugged her lightly. "we can talk later" he said as they headed back to the house.

* * *

The house was a warm contrast compared to the unseasonably cold air outside. Maggie had changed out of the wet denim and cotton, and took a seat ready for Gordie's unavoidable lecture. Maggie sat at the kitchen table in warm flannel pajamas and slippers as Gordie prepared dinner. "I'm sorry I ran off, its just---"

"I know, I was a kid once too you know, a long, long time ago"

"but I am sorry, really."

"I know, and I'm pretty sure if you go and talk to Mike he'll make his apologies too."

Following Gordie's reluctant advice, she reached the top of the stairs and turned to face an open doorway. Maggie knocked on Michael's door as the boy stared up at the ceiling counting the cracks. "I'm surprised you're speaking to me" Michael said sadly.

"Well, I just came to say I'm sorry I made you guys worry and I understand how you feel; I'm invading your turf and its okay that you're pissed."

"I wasn't pissed"

"just admit it, you were pissed, its okay."

"Fine, I was upset" Michael said stressing his last word. Gordie sauntered in as the conversation ended

"Dinner's ready and lets just keep this between us, how does that sound?" They all nodded, sealing the pact.

* * *

As Gordie walked into his office at the daily he felt his ears ringing. "What are people saying David?" he asked his loyal intern.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"That's bullshit and you know it, come on out with it, either I find out from you or from Marilyn on the street corner, your choice." "Its about the girl that's staying with you."

Miss Hilary Cleveland said that Maggie was the love child from a match made in college between Gordie and Missy Budrealt (a professor at the college Gordie attended). Ronda Mackenzie believed Maggie was a teenage runaway who had gotten pregnant and was here to tell her beau of the "bun in the oven". But then there were the stories the men told. Ben Curtis thought that she'd probably made someone "swim with the fishes", robbed a bank or cashed fraudulent checks. None of the residents had any idea of what the real story was.

* * *

"Maybe she's running from someone she really fucked over" a tall, slender boy said when the teacher left the room to make copies. "Who?" Michael asked intrigued by the gossip that was being tossed around the room.

"Shut up LaChance" the boy venomously replied.

"I bet she's the one that got fucked and now she's in trouble, if you know what I mean" said another.

"Who?" Mike repeated

"mind your own damn business LaChance!"

"Who the hell are you guys talking about?" Michael demanded. "Maggie, the new girl in town" the tallest of the two said.

"She's not pregnant" he stated "and you goons are morons if you believe anything the ninnies in this town say" Mike added.

"Oh yeah?" the tallest questioned "well you better believe it when I say I'm gonna kick your sorry ass."

"Then why don't you just get it over with you stupid prick?" The tall boy took one quick swing and sent Michael spiraling to the floor.

Michael was sent to the nurse's office where she bandaged his bleeding eyebrow. "Was this over a girl?" she asked handing him a damp ice pack.

"Well, yeah, but its not what you think, these guys were spreading rumors about a girl that lives in my house."

"Your sister" she clarified, her mind swirling slightly."

"No..." Michael wasn't sure how to summarize Maggie's story in a few words "she's a friend of the family" he decided.

"Well that doesn't give you the right to pick a fight" she said shaking her head adamantly. "You should thank your lucky stars, you didn't get in to more trouble, you could have failed class, with summer so near."

"I know, don't remind me"

"What are you going to tell your parents," she wondered

"ran into a door."

"Will that work?"

"like a charm."

Michael returned home, praying that his father would either be away at work or too wrapped up in one of his stories to notice the blue-black bruise that was beginning to form on his face. He slid in the side door, but knocked right into Maggie in the process of trying to be sly. "Your dad's up--what the hell happened?" she gasped.

"Nothing, will you get me some ice?" he asked the pain he felt in his head reflecting in his voice.

"What happened?" Maggie repeated.

"I got into a fight with these jerks in my history class"

"over what?"

"Maggie, people are starting to talk"

"about me?" she said as if she already knew.

"Well yeah"

"so you punched him?"

"I didn't get the chance" Michael laughed halfheartedly.

"Your dad is going to flip out!" Maggie exclaimed.

"Will you "shh"!" he covered Maggie's mouth with a free hand.

"You know what this means, don't you?" Maggie placed a bundle of ice on Michael's swollen face.

"Ow! No what?"

"well you got beat up because you were defending me"

"and?" Michael didn't understand. Maggie didn't say anything as she flung her arms around Michael's neck. The embrace ended as quickly as it had occurred and the two stood rigid once again. "Maggie?" she nodded "how long will you stay?" She knew that he mean how long she would be with the LaChances' home.

"I wish I knew."


	9. fighting rumors part II

(A/N: I am changing Vern's occupation because I think it is a little more impressive for his character that he build himself a business) (A/N: some of the dialogue may sound stupid but it is mostly there to show the character's developing relationships with each other) (Sorry about the length of this chapter) 

It was a perfectly relaxing sunday morning; the LaChances went to church with Maggie in tow and Gordie and Jean discussed stocks and favorite films over brunch. After a pleasant walk around the town's scenic roads Gordie happened upon VT Motors without even meaning to. He stood frozen in his place, staring up at the business Vern had made himself. "Hi can I help you with some- Gordie?" Vern's eyes widened like a "deer-caught-in-the-headlights"

"Hiya Vern, things are looking good here, real good."

"Yeah, I like it, keeps me busy"

"I bet" Gordie said unsure of what Vern would bring up next.

"So how are things with you Gordie..." Vern began rocking back and forth on the heels of his shoes "...you still go by Gordie don't you?" he asked jamming his hands in the pockets of his denim pants. "Actually I prefer Marian if you don't mind" Gordie said, never cracking a smile. Vern remained silent for the next few seconds, gape-mouthed in disbelief. "Vern?"

"Y-y-yeah Gord"

"I was kidding Vern" a wave of relief washed over him. "Things are- well things are- things---" Gordie just couldn't put it into words. "Things are good overall" he finished

"overall?" Vern asked immediatly concerned.

"Its nothing man, look don't worry about it"

"listen Gord, this isn't easy for me to say, especially with us not being as close as we were when we were kids" Gordie nodded, already anticipating what Vern would say next.

"I just want you to know that I think its wonderful, you know, a real nice thing that you're doing, being a father myself, I would have done the same thing you are. Chris stopped by yesterday on his way home as I was closing up shop and he told me everything." Vern started to walk inside the small office he had and Gordie followed suit. "So what I'm askin' is, is it true?"

"About Maggie being Teddy's?" Vern nodded. "Yeah I mean I'm just about as shocked as you are" Gordie repeated.

"Hell I'm not even sure Teddy ever had a pet he could keep alive..." Vern suddenly got excited "remember Jerry the hampster?!" Jerry was an unfortunate case; Teddy was so swamped with practicing his multiplication tables, that feeding just "slipped his mind" as he put it. "Vern, this isn't like some dumb rodent, this is a human being, she deserves to know her father even if he doesn't know what the hell he's doing!" Gordie exploded

Feeling guilty, Gordie placed his hand around his friend's forearm, trying to comfort him "sorry man, I didn't mean to snap like that, it's just so frustrating!" Gordie exhaled deeply in his dissapointment. "You know what Verno, I don't care what happens, Teddy is gonna take responsibility for this, if I have to beat him til he comes to his senses." This brought a smile to Vern's face

"never thought I'd see the day when Teddy would take a beating from good ole Gordie LaChance"

"me either man".

"I'm telling you Gord, anything you need, I'll pitch in, no problem." "That's great man...say! why don''t you and Chris come on over for dinner tomorrow night, you can even bring the wife and kids if you want."

"That'd be good, maybe Chris could figure out what to do next, I'm here for you Gord, we'll make it work."

"Sounds good, dinner's about six-six-thirty, spread the word to Chris will ya Vern?"

"Done" Vern said, shaking his old friend's hand.

Gordie walked back to his house in a slightly better mood than the one he had left in. "How was the walk?" Jean asked meeting him at the door with a kiss.

"Productive. Do you mind if we have company tomorrow night for dinner?"

"Sure who's coming?" she asked inquisitively

"Chris and Vern and maybe Vern's kids"

"comin' over to talk about Teddy?"

"yeah"

"that's great"

"I thought so too". Gordie squeezed his wife tightly and the two walked into their comfortable living room.

* * *

Vern was just about to lock his office door when he remebered his promise to Gordie. He sighed sleepily "well I guess that meatloaf can wait another five minutes" he said to noone. Chris had given Vern his private number at his office and he dialed it carefully, staring at the slip of paper he had taken it down on. "Hey Chris, its me Vern"

"Oh hi Vern listen I'm on my way out so---"

"me too, I just wanted to tell you Gordie invited us to dinner tomorrow."

"Oh that's great, what time?"

"six-six-thirty" Vern added, qouting Gordie himself.

* * *

"I cannot wait for school tomorrow!" Michael shouted from the top of the stairs.

"Alein! What the hell have you done with my son?!" Gordie screamed, running up to him and tackeling him at the foot of the stairs.

"Dad, get off of me! Tomorrow is the last day of school!"

* * *

"Oh, don't worry Jean, the alien has returned our son!" Gordie smiled at his son. Jean laughed, Gordie could be strange sometimes but that's what she adored about him. "Am I weird?" he asked taking her hand "Definitly" she said pulling him closer.

* * *

"Why don't you just get a room?!" Michael asked disgusted.

"Shut up!" his parents said jokingly. Mike mumbled something that Gordie automatically recognized

"I don't shut I grow up and when I look at you, I throw up".

* * *

"Yes yes yes yes yes yes no more techers, not more books, no more teacher's dirty looks, junior high here I come!" Michael sang childishly.

"I swear you get stranger every day" Maggie scoffed.

"School's over and I have a whole three months off, this is like christmas!"

"Okay I get it, you're excited"

"hey you would be too if you actually went to school" he shot.

"Oh two points, very nice"

"are you a drop out or something?"

"No!" she smacked his shoulder playfully.

* * *

"What happened?" Maggie took a seat beside him in preperation for her explanation.

"After my mom died I knew I had to find my father, and everything in my hometown reminded me of her, I mean I lived there my whole life, so I just had to get away."

"What grade are you in anyway?" he asked

"I'll be a sophomore this year."

"Wow you're old!" "shutup Mike!"

"No, I'm serious it's all down hill from here."

"Why don't you get jump start on your summer reading?" She suggested trying to get him to leave her alone

"why don't you get a life?" he teased ridding his backpack of all his school supplies.

* * *

Gordie sauntered into his kitchen to see his son and Maggie being civil; the two had become astonishingly close since Maggie had ran away that night. Maggie sat playing a game of solitare at the table while Michael snacked on a oversized bowl of cereal. "Hey dad what time's dinner?"

"six-thirty don't get filled up Mike we're having company." "Company?" Maggie asked putting another card down.

"Yeah, Chris and Vern are coming."

"who're they?" Michael stopped slurping his corn flakes.

"I never told you about them?" both children shook their heads. "Chris, Teddy, Vern and I were best friends all through grammer school."

* * *

"What about after that?" Gordie had peaked Maggie's interest.

"After that Vern and your father went into the shop courses and Chris and I went into college courses, we saw less and less of each other and just like that it was like we had never known each other."

"Are you nervous?" Maggie inquired trying to think of how she would feel in Gordie's awkward situation.

"A little, I mean I've only seen them once in the last ten years or so, twice including yesterday so yeah I'm a little anxious, not nervous" he corrected. The two nodded as a sign of understanding. "Well why don't you two get washed up for dinner?" Gordie recommended "okay" they chorused.

* * *

Chris shut the door to his fairly new car to see Vern drive up next to him in his beat-up work truck. "Well I don't know about you Chris but I'm starved."

"Where's your family?" Chris questioned

"Jennifer's got the flu and my wife thinks its just a matter of time before the other kids get it too."

"how many kids do you have now Verno?" Chris asked Vern as the two pairs of feet scraped the gravel beneath them.

"Well as of this morning four, some days I swear they multiply like friggen bunnies or something" he laughed.

Chris recalled his astonishment when he read Vern and Julia's wedding announcement in the weekend paper nearly twenty years ago. The couple married shortly after their graduation from high school and it came as no suprise to the people that knew them. Sometimes Chris wished he had been invited, he would have loved to sit next to Gordie, congratulating the newly weds. The two men charged the stairs finding the air muggy, hot and uncomfortable. Vern was the first to the door and knocked on the the wood frame loudly.

* * *

"One second!" Gordie cried, hurridly setting a bowl of pretzels on the end table. He opened the door wide enough to see both of his guests, graciously inviting them in. Jean , always the perfect hostess extended her arm to take Vern's cap and put it safely on the hat rack in the hall. "Mike, Maggie, company's here" Gordie said and the two children obeyed just as two model children should.

* * *

Chris held his breath, the muscles in his body tensing in anticipation. He was about to meet Teddy's daughter. Would she look like him? Would they be able to tell who her mother was at first sight? Shoes pounded the floor as the two teenagers arrived in the foyer. Gordie's son was the spitting image of him, he looked young for his age just as Gordie had. His long fingers clasped Chris's in a friendly hand shake, the deep brown in his eyes reminded Chris of what girls always thought was adorable about Gordie. Gordie was wide-eyed and innocent but he was tough even if people didn't see it at first. "I'm Michael, it's nice to meet you" he said, his pubesant voice cracking slightly.

"Chris, nice to meet you too, you look just like your dad."

"Don't tell him that, he'll get a big head" Michael chuckled softly. The girl, Maggie, stayed just to Michael's right as if she were afraid. Chris turned to Gordie

"this is Maggie" he said putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Chris, glad to meet you" he smiled taking Maggie's small hand in his own. She was one of the tiniest things he had seen, she was so slight she almost looked younger than Michael; but this of course was decieving, she was almost sixteen.

"Well we can sit down, dinner should be ready in just a minute" Jean said leading the family and their guests into the dining room.

* * *

"Holy shit, this place looks the same as it did when we were kids" Vern commented admiring the china that was only used on special occasions. "How old is this anyway?" he asked pointing to the set of china.

"My Grandmother gave it to my parents on their wedding day"

"shit, no wonder your mom screamed at me the time we were playing ball in the house"

" yeah I got grounded for a whole weekend" Gordie recollected. "Coming through" Michael bellowed carrying two dishes full of potatoes and sliced pork respectively.

"Here we go" Jean said cheerily placing a pitcher of lemonade on the table

"Maggie why don't you put the bread and the corn right here so it's out of eveyone's way?"

"Ok" Maggie replied taking her place next to Michael.

* * *

It wasn't until the natural sunlight hit her that Chris noticed how much Maggie looked like her father. They had the same face; a face that seemed to read they had seen alot of suffering and experieced alot of pain. Her hair was the same dirty blonde, with strands that were stick straight falling in her eyes. However, in many ways she looked different; but it was anyone's guess at the moment if she looked anything like her ghostly mother. Her eyes were her most striking feature; they were tiny and held the most beautiful combination of green and a golden brown.

* * *

"I'm so sorry your family couldn't make it Vern" Jean expressed simpathetically.

"It's probubly just as well I know they wouldn'tve' behaved half as well as Mike does, those little buggers are animals!" Vern laughed affectionaltley. Even though his children drove him crazy he loved them more than anything.

"Well we're happy you could make it" she smiled happily, spooning a small dollop of mashed potatoe into her mouth.

* * *

Maggie remained silent, it was almost as awkward as the night she first arrived at the LaChances and she just knew it was only going to get worse. While the old friends got reaquainted, sipping a fine brandy in the small sitting area Maggie decided to help Jean with the dishes. Without saying a word Maggie grabbed a plate and began drying the excess water off with a rag in swirling strokes. "Are you okay?" Jean asked piling one dish ontop of the other.

"Yeah, I'm fine I just wish I could be sure of what I'm doing."

"What do you mean?" Jean questioned

"Any day now I'm about to meet the man who helped give me life but somehow never gave a damn about me!" she excalimed, fumbling for the cream colored plate as it splintered into a million peices. "Oh oh Jeez, Jean I'm- I'm- I'm- I'm sorry!" she cried bursting into heaving sobs.

* * *

"I think tomorrow I should just go and tell Teddy exactly the way it is."

"Do you have a choice?" Chris asked

"not really".

"I think its going to fine really, I do, I think Teddy will love meeting his daughter"

"I'm not so sure."

The three men heard a crash in the kitchen and the noise sent Gordie rushing to the kitchen to investigate. There he found Maggie gathering peices of a broken plate, she was wiping moisture from under her eyes, she had been crying. "Is everything alright?" Gordie ventured being careful as he approached her.

"I'm fine I just got a little upset, I guess I'm anxious about meeting my father", Gordie couldn't blame her.

"I think we're going to go take care of that tomorrow, if that's okay with you"

"I just really want to get this over with" she sighed.

* * *

The LaChances and Maggie bid their guests a good evening and parted for the night. Maggie sat up in bed unable to sleep. She tried popping a tape into the cassette deck, a recording of "soothing sounds". Five minutes later she found the chirping of crickets in the summer heat annoying and tapped the "stop" button in frustration. She began to think the confused feeling that was overwhelming her would never end. Truth be told she hadn't gotten a decent night's sleep since the day she arrived in Castle Rock.

Morning broke rapidly as Maggie watched through her bedroom window. Everytime she thought she was mentally prepared to start her day she would find herself waiting five more minutes. Golden light was flooding the small room as daylight approached. Slowly Maggie scampered to the bathroom to take a shower. The water stimulated her whole body, washing away the fuzziness of early morning. Fully cleansed and nearly ready to start her day Maggie hurried to her room. She would wear what she was expected to, if she was going to meet her father, she sure as hell wasn't going to do anything special for him. Maybe Maggie was bitter but she honestly couldn't see how the love of her mother's life could be blind to the fact that she was carrying his child.

* * *

Gordie woke startled by the sudden sound of water running in the bathroom. It must be Maggie he thought logically, Michael wouldn't be up untill much after ten. When Gordie heard the taps stop running, he set out his clothes and picked up a towel from the linen closet. It was a good fifteen minutes before Jean interupted Gordie's hot shower, flushing the toilet sending splashes of freezing water onto Gordie's body. "Some of us would also like to take a shower" she said "yes dear" he said obediantly.

Gordie was fully dressed and ready to leave when he noticed Maggie sitting on the couch in the living room. "Gordie?" she asked "am I going to meet him?" she was almost trembling.

"I'll call from my office as soon as I find him, I'll have a better idea then" "okay" she sighed.

Castle Rock was busy for a tuesday morning in early summer. Chris had been kind enough to have found were Mrs. Thomas Duchamp's was now living. She had sold her house shortly after her sixteeith birthday. Gordie arrived at 109B Sycamore street and checked his watch. It was just around 11:30 and he figured if Mrs. DuChamp was asleep he would come back later on in the afternoon. He knocked just loud enough so she could hear. Deborah answered the door dressed in a heaby sweater even though the temperature was already bordering on ninety. "Hello, I don't mean to be rude young man but whatever it is your selling I really have no use for it" she told Gordie.

"I'm not here to sell you anything Mrs. DuChamp."

"I beg your pardon, have we met?"

"It's Gordon LaChance, Mrs. DuChamp and I was wondering if Teddy was here."

"Gordon LaChance! You look wonderful and I hear you're doing well at the paper, congratulations!"

"Thank you Mrs. DuChamp but about Teddy..."

"Well Gordon, Teddy hasn't lived with me in some years but you can try him at his apartment, its on Cole Street, apartment 3E."

Cole Street was not in the best part of town. It was somewhere between where the Chambers had lived and the section eight housing. Memories of walking to Chris's house for study sessions raced back to Gordie's mind and he struggled to keep focused. The building was just above ramshackle, no doubt close to being condemned and Gordie was afraid the stairs would callapse as he climbed them. Apartment 3E was all the way down a narrow hallway full of families cramped in small living quarters. Gordie was just about to press the doorbell when an elderly man stopped him. "It's broken" he said crossly, as if Gordie should have known.

"Oh, I didn't realize that, thank you."

"He's not home, he goes to work real early, when works that is" the man grumbled disgruntally."

"Well do you know where he works?"

"Last I heard he was working at Green's Furniture"

"thank you".

Carl Green was one of the most noted carpenters in Castle Rock and probubly provided Gordie with every peice of furniture in his house. When Gordie entered the shop Carl greeted him warmly and asked if he had found any of the furniture defective. "I was told a Teddy DuChamp worked here." Carl growled angrily and slammed a hammer he was using to fix a wooden chair down on his work bench. "That son of a bitch better not come anywhere near this place again after he gets out or I'll have him arrested again!"

"Again?" Green nodded dissapointed.

"Night before last he broke into my office in the back, he was looking for his last pay check because I wouldn't give 'im it, he missed too many days, so I was just about to lock up, heard a noise and had him arrested."

"Shit!"


	10. tell me about it

(A/N: Things are finally starting to get a bit interesting...let the drama begin!) (Hopefully spacing it out will make dialogue easier to read)

Gordie stood frozen in place. "I- I- can I use your phone?"

"Sure Gordie, it's in my office."

"Thanks" Gordie said blandly as he followed the hallway into the back room.

Closing the door behind him, Gordie picked up the reciever and began dialing Chris's office on the outdated rotary phone. "Chris?"

"Gordie?" he heard Chris ask, unsure of the identity of the caller. "You talked to Teddy already?"

"No. My plan kind of hit a snag."

"Uh oh" Chris said interpreting Gordie's worried tone.

"Seems Teddy's been arrested."

"Arrested?! Well if that doesn't beat them all. Where are you?"

"Green's furniture; Teddy broke into the shop to steal his last check."

"I'm on my way."

When Chris arrived Gordie took him aside, unsure of what he should do next. Nothing he could say to Mr. Green would get Teddy out of jail, no matter how persuasive Gordie was. Gordie felt for a fleeting second that Teddy was a hopeless case. "What the hell am I supposed to tell Maggie?"

"Don't worry about that, at least not just yet, I've got a plan" Chris said walking to the door of the old furniture store.

Truth be told, the Castle Rock County Jail was nothing to be feared; the were no cruel and unforgiving guards or hardened criminals. Chris and Gordie entered the "detention center" without being questioned and the two approached the security guard, Barney without a second thought between them. "Gordie, you writing something? Now, before you start let me just tell you I didn't hit Andrew Sholtz, that guy's a raving liar." Barney said agrily.

"I'm not here for work Barney, I need to see an inmate of yours."

"Just name the scumbag-- I mean anything you want Gordie" he chuckled, not caring who heard him.

"We need to see Teddy DuChamp" Chris stated

"and who are you?"

"his lawyer."

Barney's keys jingled loudly as the threesome walked the halls. A few inmates scowled at the unwelcomed visitors as they passed. One of them recognized Chris and yelled out hoarsely "hey big shot, you gonna get me out of this shit hole?" Chris ignored him, walking directly behind Barney. At the end of the hall and a seemingly endless row of cells sat Teddy DuChamp.

He looked exactly the same as he had nearly twenty-five years ago, coke bottle framed glasses and all. Gordie immediatly noticed the tape wrapped around the bridge of the spectacles; Teddy had gotten into a fight. Teddy never looked up, even as Barney unlocked the door to his cell. He stared at the blue concrete cieling, counting the number tiles and the amount of cracks.

"DuChamp you've got company" Barney said cooly. "Let me know if you need me to keep this gem in line" Barney said to the two men, giving them their privacy.

"Who are you?" Teddy asked leaning forward on his cot, squinting to see who had come to see him. Chris was the first to speak, once Barney was out of sight.

"I have decided to represent you in court"

"free of charge?" Chris nodded.

"I want you to understand I cannot get you off the hook, what you did was juvinille and irrepsonsible..." Chris sounded like a father repremanding an immature child "...but if all goes well, as I hope it does, we can cut you some sort of deal."

* * *

"Sounds good to me as long as I get the hell out of here Mr.--" it had suddenly occured to Teddy that neither of the men had given their names.

"Chambers" Chris said flatly.

Teddy stood up slowly, adjusting his glasses. "Chris Chambers"  
"Yeah, Teddy, it's me"

* * *

"Damn you really did it, you became a lawyer" Teddy said, laughter hiding behind his nasally voice. Chris couldn't help but be hurt by the mild suprise in Teddy's tone. Chris recalled how Teddy and his group of shop-course-brain-deads had laughed at the rumor that he was going to college. Teddy had probubly heard about one of the dozen clients he had represented, but then again Chris Chambers the lawyer was just a myth in the eyes of some of his childhood peers.  
"Gordie and I are here to help you Teddy"  
"Gordie LaChance?"  
"Yeah" Gordie said stuffing his hands into the pockets of his pants.

"No fucking way! Holy shit, if this ain't a fucking suprise!" Teddy exclaimed.

"Teddy, what we're going to do right now is you're going to tell me everything that happened the other night." Chris said, getting straight to business.

"You mean why I'm in here?"

"Yes" Chris nodded.  
"But first Ted--" Gordie ventured

"Ted?" Teddy placed his hands around the cold metal and looked straight into Gordies deep brown eyes.

"Teddy..." Gordie corrected "...I have something to tell you."

* * *

Teddy's face grew serious as Gordie swallowed hard and prepared himself. :A few days ago I got talking to a girl who was new in town and- and..." Gordie's throat had gone completely dry "...she had come here looking for her father..." he trailed off, his throat closing around the words.  
"What?" Teddy didn't move an inch of his body as he waited for Gordie to explain "Teddy, you're a father." It sounded so unemotional, like a fact he had been reading from a textbook.

"What are you talking about LaChance?"

"Teddy, you have a daughter, she's sixteen, she--"

"What the hell do you want LaChance?" Teddy's knuckles turned a glowing white around the cell bars.  
"Want? what do you mean?" Gordie looked from Teddy to Chris, searching for clarification.

"I mean what the hell is this business about me having a kid, where the hell did you hear that shit from?!" Teddy said, his mouth curling up in anger as he spoke.

* * *

"I told you--" Teddy's reaction was frightening Gordie to his very core.

"You lying son of a bitch, get out!" Teddy shouted.  
"Teddy--" Chris said, trying as always to keep some sort of order between the two.  
"I don't know what your angle is Chambers but you homos better get out before I do, I mean it!" he bellowed.  
"Pipe down!" Barney said from somewhere in the background. "See what I have to put up with?" Gordie heard Barney mumble.

Teddy glared at Chris and Gordie as he returned to his cot. He had made it crystal clear that he was finished talking with them and couldn't be reasoned with until he cooled off. Gordie and Chris shuffled down the hall, knowing this wouldn't be the last time they would set foot in the county jail.

As Chris and Gordie bounded down the steps of the jail gordie finally took his hands out of his pockets and let out a frustrated yelp. "I don't believe this shit! How many fucking things are going to go wrong?, give me a fucking break will 'ya!" Chris stayed silent, letting Gordie get his emotions under control.  
"I think it might be best to bring Maggie here and have her tell Teddy herself" Chris suggested giving Gordie's shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"You don't think that'd be dangerous?"  
"he wouldn't hurt her, besides you and I would only be down the hall. Gord', I don't see any other way" Gordie sighed, knowing Chris was right.

Gordie and Chris drove to home to Maggie as fast as they could, hoping Maggie hadn't gone anywhere with Jean or Michael. Gordie burst through the front door and was relieved when he heard Maggie humming softly to herself. Gordie started to move toward the comfortable living room as Chris stayed behind in the kitchen. He treaded the aged carpet carefully, not wanting to startle her. He turned the corner to see Maggie sitting peacefully in an oversized chair reading a well-worn copy of Paradise Lost. "Mags?"

"Oh hi, I didn't hear you come in, Michael's at Danny's he said he might eat over there if that's okay..."Gordie stood quietly, nodding stiffly "...what's up?" She smiled innocently as Gordie leaned against the arm of her chair.

"Well your father..." he said as he caught her attention "...has gotten into some trouble."

"Trouble, you mean with the law?"  
"He had a fight with his boss the other night" he clarified. "Mags he-he-he didn't quite understand what we were saying when we told him he had a daughter."

* * *

"He didn't believe you" Maggie was much too smart for Gordie's vague decriptions of the encounter that had just taken place.

* * *

"I think it would be best if you went in to speak with him" Gordie said, using Chris's words.

* * *

Maggie complied with Gordie's round-about request; if she wanted some real closure, she had no choice. As she followed Gordie and Chris she felt her heart begin to race and all the muscles in her body tighten. "Are you sure you don't want me to come with you? Chris could even go in with you if you would feel more comfortable."

"No, this is what I came here to do" she said determined to face whatever lay in front of her.

"Alright" Gordie agreed, showing her the way.

Maggie's eyes wandered from cell to cell scanning each door she passed. Her father was behind one of these set of bars. This was the man her mother had loved so dearly, this was the man responsible for giving her life. Maggie thought that expression was a bit ironic, given her situation. This man, Teddy DuChamp had probably never done anything worthwhile in his whole life. "Responsiible", she decided was not the right word, it did not suit the immature man she had never met. An aging gaurd stopped Maggie as she reached another hallway. "Can I help you young lady?" he asked, as if bothered by her presence.  
"Yes, I'm here to see Teddy DuChamp" she explained.  
"Another one? Jeez for a good-for-nothin-s-o-b this DuChamp sure as hell is popular" the gray-haired man laughed. Maggie did not have the emotional strength to smile, she simply followed Barney past another row of cages.

"DuChamp, Visitor!" he hollered, disturbing Teddy's afternoon nap.

* * *

"I already told you guys..." he began, expecting to see Gordie and Chris. Teddy felt his stomach roll over as he gazed into a pair of unmistakably familiar eyes. A tiny brunette stood silently, perhaps waiting for Teddy to speak. Teddy struggled for words--any word-- but found none. This girl had the most beautiful eyes in the world, eyes that had also belonged to someone who was once very near and dear to Teddy's heart. "Beth" he breathed.

"I'm Maggie Young, Elizabeth's daughter" she paused as if she had forgotten what esle there was to say "I'm your daughter"  
...


End file.
